Lexus topped the rankings in Consumer Reports's 2013 automotive brand report card. Detroit automakers didn't fare very well -- Cadillac's 14th place tie was the best for U.S. brand -- while Japanese automakers again dominated, taking eight of the top 10 spots.

Nearly three years after a deepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the other companies involved are scheduled to face their judge in court. The trial is set to start Monday in New Orleans before a federal judge, but a settlement is possible.

When smart investors consider a stock, they look at profit margins, revenue growth, and a raft of ratios to decide if it's a good buy. But beyond those measurements, here's a subtle and simple guideline that can give you real insight about a company's prospects: How honest is its management?

Forget transforming your living room: There are a dozen or so automakers at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas proposing new technologies to transform your car, from Bluetooth health-monitoring to self-driving vehicles.

Ford unveiled a surprise this week: It's relaunching the Lincoln brand, and committing more than $1 billion to the effort. The renewal of the luxury brand is about more than just prestige. It's about big profits, and a push by Ford into one very big foreign market.

Early in the year, the market appeared fraught with danger as the recession threatened to hang around. But for the intrepid, it was a welcome stage for value-hunting at depressed stock prices. Here's a look at picks that panned out well -- and not so well.

In a bid to better compete against European and Japanese luxury makes, Ford reportedly may seek to reduce the number of Lincoln dealerships in the U.S. Nearly 1,200 dealers sell Lincolns, five times more than sell Toyota's Lexus nameplate, the nation's leading luxury brand.

Toyota is allegedly in talks to supply technology and key components for hybrid vehicles to Germany's Daimler, according to a report Thursday in the Nikkei Business Daily newspaper. If a deal is made, Daimler would become fourth automaker to use Toyota's gas-electric hybrid technology.

Volkswagen has tapped a veteran with deep knowledge of the U.S. domestic auto industry to head its U.S. operations. The German carmaker named Jonathan Browning, who has worked for both General Motors and Ford Motor, as CEO of Volkswagen of America.

Since the recession began, more than 8 million Americans have lost their jobs. But perhaps even more surprising is the small number of companies that are responsible for laying off such a large percentage of today's unemployed workers.